7 Best Practices for Your Site’s Call to Action

By Goran PaunovicAbout 2min read •Written February 25, 2016

One of the most neglected parts of a sales page’s web design is the call to action button (CTA). A call to action button or link is basically the device that is used to get users to take some kind of action whether it’s signing up to an email list or going through with a purchase. Many marketers do not do enough to create a compelling CTA while others highlight the CTA in the wrong manner. A strong CTA will increase your conversion rates while also improving your site’s web usability.

If you follow these best practices, you should be able to improve your CTA and as a result, your conversion rates.

1. Use active language and command the user to take action. Some great examples of strong CTAS are:

Claim Your Free Trial

Subscribe for Your Free Gift

Lock In Your Reservation

2. Make sure that the button stands out in your web design. Center your CTA button and make sure that the color of the button is distinct from the rest of the page. It’s not atypical for the CTA button to fall into a color that makes up the theme of the website design. Web usability does plays a factor here. Make sure there’s enough negative space and that the button is not surrounded by the same or similar colors as this would only make it blend in with everything else.

3. Test different shaped/sized buttons and designs. Try square buttons, rounded buttons, flat design, 3D design, large buttons, medium buttons, etc. Most of the time, these changes will produce only small lifts in conversion, but you have to remember that every little lift counts towards your overall conversion and profitability.

4. Test graphical cues. Small graphical cues like arrows, icons, handwritten notes, and borders can also produce small lifts in your CTA. They are also a great way to improve web usability for eCommerce sites since almost all the sites are sales pages. Of course, this can easily be integrated into the entire eCommerce site’s web design.

5. Describe the offer clearly before the CTA. Let the user know what exactly he is getting and why he should act just before the CTA button. It acts as a quick summary of the benefits and the offer before it’s time to act. This is important since the user may have gotten lost in the sales piece or content by the time he’s reached the end of the page.

6. Try using urgency. If there is really is a reason to use urgency, make sure you use it in your CTA. Use language like “there are only 5 days left” or “there are only 40 copies of the product left” to remind the user that there is a small window to act. This gives the user an extra incentive to follow through on your CTA. Just make sure you don’t fake the urgency.

7. Use the right context. If your offer is centered around a free trial, don’t create a button that says “Buy Now.” Make it contextually relevant and use language like “Claim Your Free Trial” or “Take the Free Trial.” Not only does it make more sense, it also helps strengthen your offer.

Goran Paunovic

Goran Paunovic has spent the better part of his career helping companies focus their branding and marketing messages, and giving voice to their corporate identities through design and user interface and experience (UX/UI). Goran founded the full-service graphic and interactive design agency ArtVersion, in 1999. Since then ArtVersion has provided numerous clients, including Fortune 500 companies, with web-design, UI/UX, multimedia, corporate identity, and branding services.